GUS 4065/5065: Applications in GIS/Geographic Data Systems
Lab Information
Introduction
The latter portion of each class will be devoted to 'lab' where you will be expected to complete a lab assignment. You may work on these assignments within class or outside of class. Note that the 336 Gladfelter Hall lab is generally open M-F from 8:30 am - 7:00 pm, and is available to you when other classes are not using the lab. In addition, many other computer labs administered by the College of Liberal Arts (see index.htmfor CLA labs) offers access to the GIS software and data used for the course, including the large drop-in lab located in the lobby of Anderson Hall.
Other Computer Labs with GIS Software/Data
TECH Center Hundreds of computers to choose from! Open 24 hours
AL-21 101 Seat Drop-in
AL-22 51 Seat Classroom
AL-1931 Seat Classroom
GH 336 19 Seat Classroom
GH 513 13 Seat Classroom
GH 748 18 Seat Classroom
WH 640 31 Seat Classroom
TL 201 18 Seat Writing Center
TL 201D 24 Seat Classroom
Due Dates
Due dates are indicated in the lab assignment.All labs are due at the beginning of class on their due date.
Write-Ups
Each lab contains a set of instructions to demonstrate some principle of GIS. Following the instructions, there follows an assignment which you are expected to complete. This assignment will be focused on an analysis task.
For each lab assignment you must hand in a brief report in hardcopy; I will not accept softcopy reports (i.e. do not email me your report). This report must be 1-2 pages in length, single spaced, with 1.25" margins. It should have your name, date, and lab assignment number (e.g. Lab 3) at the top of the page. It must contain the following four sections:
Introduction
Methods
Results
Conclusion
The name of the section must appear in bold at the top of each section.
The introduction section should state the objective - what you are trying to accomplish in your assignment. Here, your objective is the goal of your analysis.The introduction should NOT (NOT) state that your objective is 'to learn GIS' or something similar!
The methods section should state how you did the analysis, what analytical steps you took to complete the assignment. This section does not need to state every drop down menu item you selected or every button you pushed, but should summarize what analytical operations you used.
The results section should report the results of your analysis.
The conclusion section should offer some interpretation of your results as well as report on any assumptions and limitations of your analysis and what other steps could be taken to improve the analysis.
In addition, the lab may require the creation of maps, tables, and/or charts, as specified in the lab assignment. These graphics should be appended onto the end of the written report and referred to in the text.
For help with writing visit the Temple University Writing Center. For information visit them on the web at .
Working with Other Students
I encourage students to work together on lab assignments and assist each other in understanding the course material. However, all contents of each student's lab writeups (text and graphics) must be authored solely by that student.
Grading
Each lab will be graded out of 10 points.
Labs will be graded based not only on whether you ‘get the right answer’, but also on your ability to express yourself in a coherent fashion through both writing and graphics (i.e. maps).You must complete all the labs to pass the course.
Data
Data for the course are available on the machines in any CLA-managed lab under the 'Main Share' drive usually mapped to the 'S' drive. Labs will typically take longer than one or two lab session to complete, so you will need to save incomplete labs so that you may continue to work on them at another time.It is the student's responsibility to understand how data and projects are saved, and to manage and back up their own data and assignments.
Note that you can write to the shared drive space but you cannot delete; you can also write files to the temp directory on a computer's hard drive, but anyone else who uses that computer will have access to those files.
I suggest purchasing a USB port-based data storage device, with a 512 MB capacity or greater.For each assignment, you can copy all relevant data files to that device and then perform the lab assignments by working off the device. Note that the computers in 336 Gladfelter Hall do not have Zip drives.